advantages of BSN vs. ADN

Antikigirl, ASN, RN · Dec 31, 2004

Smiling blue eyes..that is my deal on the nose! I got my ADN because frankly I will be honest..I got Granted through it! I knew it would be a fairly secure job with more opportunities than say...a retail manager which I was going down the path to being. I was a single parent, and I knew..I better do something more secure! Some people say "well you did it just for the money then" and I would reply "have you gone to RN school? If it was just for the money I would have quit the stress three months in and rethought it!!!!!!".

I chose to get that ADN later on really...I had the Grants, but still knew if I didn't like what I was doing...I either could quit and give that Grant to someone else that really wanted it or go on with my ADN and have the liberty of the nursing career to change into other fields! I chose the latter obviously, and still am thinking of what I wish to do..including going into other fields! My world, despite some money and time difficulties is wide open to me..why not explore, whether I choose nursing or another field...I need to find my niche and be happy, that to me is worth any amount of time and stress and money!

And RN, whether BSN or ADN is an RN...just a different way and time to get there to me! Yes a BSN can open more opportunites, but you can get that after the ADN if you so choose and get some experience under your belt...to test it out so to speak! No other job I know of can you do that! (another reason I stuck with nursing!!!). The thing to remember is that the RN doesn't have to run your life...you can get out and change and never feel bad about the choice! If nursing isn't your thing after your RN title has been achieved...or your situation has changed...there is NO SHAME in leaving nursing if you feel you need to! Something many people just don't understand..they just think "oh...they didn't have the 'stuff' to be a nurse so they failed". Failed, no failing is sticking to nursing and not liking it and making yourself, patients, family, and fellow staff miserable for it..now that is failing, not leaving because it wasn't right for you...

So far for me, and the opporunities I have been given in an area of the country with NO lack of nurses...I feel nursing may not be my thing right now. I am not being treated as a professional (nor are the BSN's I work with...we never had a probelm with the ADN or BSN thing in my facilty..we are all RN's and we get abused the same! LOL!), nor even a human being...just a signature on paperwork that they need to pass a state audit!!! Took me 6 months of searching to find this job...so it isn't like changing nursing facilities is easy around here. I am really thinking due to my environment, Nursing right now was not a solid choice as I once thought...so I may just go into another totally different part of Medical (I would like to stick with medical because I have done so very well) or leave it all together.

BUt the nicest thing..I am a RN, I made it, I achieved my goal...and now regardless of if I go on to my BSN, or stick with the ADN or none of it at all..I did what I set out to do...and it was all my doing and choice! And I don't regret any of it, and changed many lifes for the better along the way..now that is a major sucess I never knew I could ever do!

Rely on the flexibility of nursing, that is a very huge strong suit! But always be open to new opportunities for self fulfillment in other fields too...you just never know what life has in store for you in the future!

mitchsmom · Dec 31, 2004

smilingblueeyes, I think that's a great idea if a degree besides BSN would work better for your goals. Why not? (BTW, I have nursing research next semester and I'm absolutely dreading it! LOL)

nursbee04, just FYI, I wasn't defending the article, just suggesting that that may be where some of those comments are coming from. As a matter of fact, the link had a lengthy critique of the study and discussion of it.

I respect all the nurses out there working hard and doing a good job, no matter what initials... at the same time I still say always go for the highest education you are able to do. No one can take it away and you won't regret it, it can only help you.

jeepgirl, LPN, NP · Dec 31, 2004

Actually, the guy may have seen this:
Study: Nurses' Education Affects Death Rates
https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=87225

i actually did a breakdown of this article and study for my BSN program - my research and theory class. The study was SOOO flawed that I cannot believe it was ever published. The person who designed and coordinated carrying out the whole thing has been pretty much torn to pieces. Rightfully so. The whole thing was slanted from the start (in other words, biased).

Negative propaganda that only hurts our profession. Makes me sick to my stomach!

Reddy,RN · Dec 31, 2004

My thanks to katiebugg for the question and SmilingBlueEyes for the threads back on page 1. Reading all this feels like a seminar.

I start a nursing program next month and this feels like time well-spent on a really valuable prerequisite. I learned a lot. Thanks again.

catlady, BSN, RN · Jan 1, 2005

I'm not talking about ADN vs BSN. Just giving those that can't figure out the value of non-nursing courses a "Dr. Phil" kick in the butt! But, seeing the quality of any graduate now makes me too scared to get sick! Do you know that universities used to NOT have remedial courses to teach what high school was supposed to teach.

Golly, now could we give that kick in the butt to the nursing boards, the graduate schools, and the nursing employers? Some of us have a *vast* number of non-nursing courses under our belts--by way of non-nursing bachelor's and master's degrees earned in addition to our nursing education--but because our nursing sheepskins come from diploma schools or ADN programs, we're considered sub-standard and not worthy of respect, transfer credit or progressive employment.

zenman · Jan 1, 2005

Apparently you liked school. Obviously many do not. That doesn't make them uneducated, and I think that is extremely rude of you to say. Your opinions matter, but not your name calling. Just because one doesn't want to take non-nursing courses doesn't mean he or she is trash. I'm just offended by your comment.

Sorry to damge your fragile psyche; I'm just reality focused. Who said anything about trash? Anyone who cannot see the value in non-nursing courses are, in my opinion, not educated enough to know what is going on. No name calling, just facts.

Filling the pockets of colleges does not make one professional. You can't use what you learned in history class to save a pt.'s life, and unless you teach history, or go to trial against it , then why should you have to learn it after learning it through out your life in grade school, and high school????

Colleges have a right to make money for providing a needed service like any other business. Saving lives is only a small part of what we do. Being "educated" means you learn more than you did in high school. Taking only courses specific to a certain area makes one a trade school graduate.

So, you can't figure out how history might make you a better nurse? Lets just say that we get some of the survivors from the recent disaster admitted to your hospital. Would you know about their customs or would you offend the heck out of them? If you had a geography course you might even be aware of where this disaster occurred.

Also, my mother is one of a very few females buyers in a big international helicopter company. She did not graduate from college, in fact only was able to take one class. However, she has been with this company for 20 (?) years, and she is the only buyer without a college education. Do you think because she is uneducated she is incompetent to do her job? Obviously she is very competent! Does that make her not a professional? Is she the only nonprofessional in the professional dept. because she doesn't have her BSN degree? I think not!

*sigh* Correct, she is not a professional by vertue of educational standards. She can, however, (and probably does) act professional. Are you aware of the difference? And it sounds like she is very competent in her job but that issue is another thread entirely. My brother, a trade school graduate, is very good at his job but not a "professional" unless you consider that the term is now watered down so that everyone is a "professional." Let's see...professional taxi driver, profesional police officer, professional auto mechanic, professional pest control technician, etc., etc..

People like you that try to belittle others are the reason we all can't get along and act like adults. You are not better than anyone else ADN or BSN!

"People like you"...people like me might be the voice of reason and keep others on track! I never did consider myself any better than anyone else. And there are lots of other reasons why our 'profession" doesn't get along and it's not because of me!

Oh, BTW...I've never even seen "Dr. Phil". :angryfire

Try to not let your feelings get in the way of a good discussion. Go to the "happy place."

zenman · Jan 1, 2005

i actually did a breakdown of this article and study for my BSN program - my research and theory class. The study was SOOO flawed that I cannot believe it was ever published. The person who designed and coordinated carrying out the whole thing has been pretty much torn to pieces. Rightfully so. The whole thing was slanted from the start (in other words, biased).
Negative propaganda that only hurts our profession. Makes me sick to my stomach!

Well, I'll be!! A perfect example of how a "useless" course can be "useful!"

zenman · Jan 1, 2005

Golly, now could we give that kick in the butt to the nursing boards, the graduate schools, and the nursing employers? Some of us have a *vast* number of non-nursing courses under our belts--by way of non-nursing bachelor's and master's degrees earned in addition to our nursing education--but because our nursing sheepskins come from diploma schools or ADN programs, we're considered sub-standard and not worthy of respect, transfer credit or progressive employment.

My foot is not big enough!

Do your other courses give you a different perspective on nursing? Maybe you can address that with some of the others here.

JenNJFLCA · Jan 1, 2005

The girl in front of me turned to her friend and asked...What does edematous mean and where is the antecubital area?

Okay, deep breath.....Here goes. I have NEVER thought of myself as better than ADN student nurses or nurses. I am SO tired of getting this "you think you're better than me because you have/are working towards a BSN, but you don't get taught anything." :angryfire (I also go to a private university, so you can imagine the other comments I hear about being rich.....sure, that's why I work full time and am $45,000 in student loan debt! That's a different soap box though). In my many clinical hours (another myth....BSN nurses do have many of those as well!) I have come across great ADN nurses and great BSN nurses. I have also encountered lousy ADN nurses and lousy BSN nurses. So, let's just take INDIVIDUALS into consideration, OK? There's no point in lumping ADNs and BSNs into 2 different categories. The person that does know what edematous means and where the antecubital area is needs some serious help. But I can tell you first hand that there are actually BSN students who (gasp!) know what that means.

And that's my 2 cents.

NeoNurseTX, RN · Jan 1, 2005

So, an ADN is more likely to kill a patient, huh. Well, when I was in my last semester of college (I'm only an ADN) I attended a mock trial. This is held every year in Dallas, TX for the graduating nursing students in the area and so there were both ADN as well as BSN students there. The BSN students from Baylor University were sitting in front of us and my friends and I heard a lot of comments from them that made us scared for their future patients. But, the one that topped the cake was when it was mentioned that the patient was so edematous that the doctors couldn't get an antecubital IV in and they had to do a cut-down. The girl in front of me turned to her friend and asked...What does edematous mean and where is the antecubital area?
If that's the way they teach BSN students, then I hope any time my family or myself is in the hospital I have an ADN for my nurse.

WOW i know what all of that means and i haven't had a single nursing class yet!

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Jan 1, 2005

moderator's note:

i am locking this thread for a "cooling down" period.

please remember to debate the issues and avoid personal attacks or generalized statements. also, please avoid "talking down" to other posters, "soap-boxing," or other condescending behavior.

thank you :)